1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of refilling ink, an ink cartridge, and a method of manufacturing an ink cartridge.
2. Related Art
In a conventional inkjet printer, ink inside an ink cartridge is consumed, and when none remains, the ink cartridge is replaced with a new ink cartridge. However, the act of discarding a used ink cartridge after one usage leads to problems such as an increase in waste matter and an impact on the environment, and thus attempts have been made to refill a used ink cartridge with ink and reuse the ink cartridge. For example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-005958, a through hole is opened in a lid member of an ink cartridge to allow for ink to be refilled from the through hole. In Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-044193, the lid member is removed from the ink cartridge, and a hole is opened in a part of a film that is welded onto the body of the ink cartridge, to allow for ink to be refilled from the hole.
However, in the case of Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-005958, since the ink is refilled from the through hole opened in the lid member, the status of the filling of the ink cartridge with the ink cannot be checked when the filling is being carried out. In the case of Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-044193, even though the status of the filling of the ink can be checked through the welded film, tasks such as removing and later re-attaching the lid member become necessary, because the lid member is removed from the ink cartridge and the hole is opened in the film, and it is difficult to refill the ink in a short period of time without considerable effort.